Last year, travel lovers were shocked by the news: Greece was introducing a tourism tax. Of course, unnecessary spending is unpleasant for anyone, but this method of replenishing the state treasury is already quite common in the world. Thus, tourists pay the state for a comfortable stay in Spain, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro and even, starting in 2018, in some regions of Russia. The tourist tax in Greece was introduced on January 1, 2018 and the first travelers have already felt its effect. How is it formed tax rate, and on what principle the fee payment mechanism operates, we will tell you in today’s material.
What is a tourist tax in Greece
As you know, modern Hellas is going through hard times. The protracted crisis that the country has been in for almost a decade is forcing the government to adjust laws and find new ways to generate revenue. And so, having studied the experience of neighboring countries, the Greeks also decided to levy a tax on the stay of travelers in the country.
Greece itself received the news about the resort fee with caution. Many predicted a strong drop in demand for holidays in Greece, and, consequently, a decrease in the country's competitiveness in the tourism sector. The autumn-winter period was of particular concern: Greek hoteliers even turned to the government with a request to charge additional fee only during the holiday season. However, officials did not listen to representatives of the tourism industry, and the country is introducing tourist tax exactly from January 1, 2018.
So, what does a tourist now need to know about the accommodation tax in Greece? Firstly, it is not paid to agencies, but directly to local hotels and inns. This means that Greece does not include a tourist tax in the cost of tours: the rate is paid separately from the cost of the entire stay. And secondly, the amount tax payment is formed based on the number of nights of stay and the quality of services provided. Let us examine in more detail these rules for the formation of the Greek housing duty.
Tourist tax in Greece – when and who has to pay
All travelers who will reside in the country on legal terms are subject to payment of the fee, i.e. by officially registering accommodation in hotels, guest houses, apartments and other types of housing. It does not matter whether the holiday season or the winter period is chosen for the trip: you need to pay the accommodation tax not only in the summer months (as previously stated by the Greek authorities), but all year round. It also does not matter in which region of Greece travelers will live. Athens, Crete, Rhodes, etc. - the tax rate is the same everywhere, and is adjusted only by the conditions of the room and the date of arrival.
Read also: Features of the geography of Greece
The tourist tax is paid at the registration desk immediately upon arrival, i.e. even before accommodation in rooms, apartments or suites. It is important to know that if a tourist refuses to pay part or all of the accommodation tax, the hosting party (hotel/inn/villa) has the right to refuse to provide services, even despite the reservation made for the room.
By the way, we note that this tax does not apply to booking accommodation at all: payment is made upon the actual stay, i.e. from the moment of check-in at the hotel until the official check-out. In other words, if you have made a reservation and due to current circumstances are forced to cancel it, then, of course, you do not need to pay any taxes.
So, let’s summarize briefly and highlight the main provisions of the Greek law on tourism tax in 2018.
- The holiday season and the city of stay does not matter. The accommodation tax applies throughout Greece all year round.
- All travelers staying in hotels, inns, villas, guest houses and other types of accommodation are required to pay a tourist tax.
- Tax payment occurs at the time of check-in.
- The payment amount is calculated based on the rate for this number for one night stay.
- If a tourist refuses to pay the fee, the hotel has the right to refuse accommodation.
Of course, when going on a trip, you need to have at least an approximate idea of the cost of paying tax. The information presented in the next section will help you calculate the amount of additional charge per room.
ATHENS, January 1 - RIA Novosti, Gennady Melnik. From January 1, 2018, Greece will introduce new tax for tourists - from 0.25 to 4 euros per night in a hotel, depending on its class.
The government hopes to use the new levy to increase budget revenues, of which tourism accounts for a significant share, by more than 80 million euros. However, hoteliers and tour operators believe that the new tax will deal a blow to the industry, leading to a reduction in demand, turnover and the loss of thousands of jobs.
In Greece, tourism contributes about 20% of GDP, and the tourism industry employs 1.3 million people. This year, according to forecasts from the Ministry of Tourism, about 30 million tourists will visit Greece; each of them spent an average of 600 euros in the country.
"Accommodation tax"
The law that every tourist visiting Greece will pay additionally for hotel accommodation was adopted back in May 2016, but it was decided to introduce the tax on January 1, 2018.
The "accommodation tax" is charged daily to the tourist for the use of the hotel room, rented apartment, furnished apartments.
Guests of five-star hotels will be charged an additional 4 euros per night, four-star hotels - 3 euros, three-star hotels - 1.5 euros, and hotels with one or two stars - 0.5 euros.
For renting one or two furnished rooms in an apartment or apartment, the fee will be 0.25 euros, for three rooms - 0.5 euros and for four-room apartments - 1 euro.
The levy was introduced along with a package of other tough measures to stabilize the Greek economy, which has been in deep crisis since 2009. International creditors set the condition for the allocation of further tranches of loans for the country to pursue a policy of “belt tightening” and the adoption of tough austerity measures.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the new tax was supposed to give the budget an additional 84 million euros.
However, hoteliers and tour operators do not agree with this assessment. In their opinion, the very concept of such a tax is incorrect, and in conditions of fierce competition in the tourism market, it could reduce the attractiveness of Greece.
"Wrong Tax"
A study by Grant Thornton, commissioned by the Chamber of Greek Hoteliers, said that the “accommodation tax” would be a major blow to the competitiveness of the Greek tourism product, both in terms of price, quality and employment. IN medium term The damage to the Greek economy from its use and reduced demand from tourists is estimated at 435 million euros, which is almost five times the possible financial benefit. As a result, the introduction of a new fee will lead to the loss of almost 6.2 thousand jobs,
Although the fee will not exceed 4 euros per room per night, it will affect the level of fees. In a global market where price comparisons take place via the Internet, every euro matters, experts say.
"The tax itself is stupid. It is wrong from the very beginning. Four euros per day for a five-star hotel. Let's figure out what a five-star hotel means? There is a hotel that costs almost a thousand euros per day, and there is a hotel in Athens that you can rent for both 80 and 100 euros. It’s strange that a tourist who pays a thousand euros per day will pay the same tax as a tourist who rented a room for 100 euros,” Dimitris Charitidis, managing director of TEZ TOUR Greece, told RIA Novosti .
According to him, in some countries there is a tourist tax, which is immediately included in the room price, and the tourist does not see it, and there are no such problems. In Cyprus, such a fee is 1% of the cost of the tour, accommodation, it is included in the price, and the hotel then makes contributions to the state. There is such a collection in Italy and Spain.
“In Greece, the new fee will be paid by the tourist on the spot, when leaving the hotel,” said Haritidis, clarifying that the fee will be charged per room, and not per person.
Kharitidis emphasized that every tour operator is obliged to warn the tourist when purchasing a tour that the price does not include a tourist tax, and to name the amount. This is mandatory information and should be in every contract, he added.
Kharitidis also noted that so far the new fee has not had any impact on the growth of tour sales for next year. "On the contrary, there is a colossal increase in early booking sales from Western countries and from Russia,” said a representative of the travel company.
“The entire tourism world is telling the state that there will be damage, and the state is responding - we are seeing an increase in bookings, and so far we have not seen any damage,” he said.
Kharitidis expressed hope that the gathering will still be cancelled.
“The government said that this fee is temporary, it will be in the 2018-2019 season, and then it will be removed. Although I don’t believe it,” the expert noted.
ATHENS, January 1 - RIA Novosti, Gennady Melnik. From January 1, 2018, Greece will introduce a new tax for tourists - from 0.25 to 4 euros per night in a hotel, depending on its class.
The government hopes to use the new levy to increase budget revenues, of which tourism accounts for a significant share, by more than 80 million euros. However, hoteliers and tour operators believe that the new tax will deal a blow to the industry, leading to a reduction in demand, turnover and the loss of thousands of jobs.
In Greece, tourism contributes about 20% of GDP, and the tourism industry employs 1.3 million people. This year, according to forecasts from the Ministry of Tourism, about 30 million tourists will visit Greece; each of them spent an average of 600 euros in the country.
"Accommodation tax"
The law that every tourist visiting Greece will pay additionally for hotel accommodation was adopted back in May 2016, but it was decided to introduce the tax on January 1, 2018.
The "accommodation tax" is charged daily from the tourist for the use of a hotel room, rented apartment, furnished apartment.
Guests of five-star hotels will be charged an additional 4 euros per night, four-star hotels - 3 euros, three-star hotels - 1.5 euros, and hotels with one or two stars - 0.5 euros.
For renting one or two furnished rooms in an apartment or apartment, the fee will be 0.25 euros, for three rooms - 0.5 euros and for four-room apartments - 1 euro.
The levy was introduced along with a package of other tough measures to stabilize the Greek economy, which has been in deep crisis since 2009. International creditors set the condition for the allocation of further tranches of loans for the country to pursue a policy of “belt tightening” and the adoption of tough austerity measures.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the new tax was supposed to give the budget an additional 84 million euros.
However, hoteliers and tour operators do not agree with this assessment. In their opinion, the very concept of such a tax is incorrect, and in conditions of fierce competition in the tourism market, it could reduce the attractiveness of Greece.
"Wrong Tax"
A study by Grant Thornton, commissioned by the Chamber of Greek Hoteliers, said that the “accommodation tax” would be a major blow to the competitiveness of the Greek tourism product, both in terms of price, quality and employment. In the medium term, the damage to the Greek economy from its use and reduced demand from tourists is estimated at 435 million euros, which is almost five times the possible financial benefit. As a result, the introduction of a new fee will lead to the loss of almost 6.2 thousand jobs,
Although the fee will not exceed 4 euros per room per night, it will affect the level of fees. In a global market where price comparisons take place via the Internet, every euro matters, experts say.
"The tax itself is stupid. It is wrong from the very beginning. Four euros per day for a five-star hotel. Let's figure out what a five-star hotel means? There is a hotel that costs almost a thousand euros per day, and there is a hotel in Athens that you can rent for both 80 and 100 euros. It’s strange that a tourist who pays a thousand euros per day will pay the same tax as a tourist who rented a room for 100 euros,” Dimitris Charitidis, managing director of TEZ TOUR Greece, told RIA Novosti .
According to him, in some countries there is a tourist tax, which is immediately included in the room price, and the tourist does not see it, and there are no such problems. In Cyprus, such a fee is 1% of the cost of the tour, accommodation, it is included in the price, and the hotel then makes contributions to the state. There is such a collection in Italy and Spain.
“In Greece, the new fee will be paid by the tourist on the spot, when leaving the hotel,” said Haritidis, clarifying that the fee will be charged per room, and not per person.
Kharitidis emphasized that every tour operator is obliged to warn the tourist when purchasing a tour that the price does not include a tourist tax, and to name the amount. This is mandatory information and should be in every contract, he added.
Kharitidis also noted that so far the new fee has not had any impact on the growth of tour sales for next year. “On the contrary, there is a colossal increase in sales for early bookings from Western countries and from Russia,” said a representative of the travel company.
“The entire tourism world is telling the state that there will be damage, and the state is responding - we are seeing an increase in bookings, and so far we have not seen any damage,” he said.
Kharitidis expressed hope that the gathering will still be cancelled.
“The government said that this fee is temporary, it will be in the 2018-2019 season, and then it will be removed. Although I don’t believe it,” the expert noted.
For example, in Italy the amount of accommodation tax varies from 2-7 euros per day, in Spain from 0.45-2.25 euros, and in Montenegro - 1 euro per day. In Serbia, the accommodation tax is 50-140.00 depending on the category of tourist place.
Official answers from the Greek authorities to some questions:
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What type of tourist accommodation is subject to accommodation tax?
Payment of accommodation tax is introduced in 1-5 star hotels, as well as in other residential premises(apartments, rooms, separate villas) that accept guests for one or several days. In camps and in particular in certain categories no accommodation tax is paid.
How much is the accommodation tax? Is it per dwelling or per person?
The residence tax is calculated as fixed amount per day and per unit of accommodation, for example per room, but not per person.
The tax amount depends on the type of accommodation:
- 4 € per room per night for 5 star hotels
- 3 € per room per night for 4 star hotels
- 1.5 € per room per day for 3 star hotels
- 0.5 € per room per night for 1-2 star hotels
- 0.5 € per day for private rooms, studios and apartments.
When is accommodation tax due? Will I receive confirmation that I paid for it?
The residence tax is paid upon departure - immediately before departure. The owner or manager of the property or hotel will give you a receipt that includes: the date of issue, the name of the person to whom the property was issued, the dates of stay, and the amount of the commission.
If we are on vacation with another family and are staying in the same apartment, is it necessary for both families to pay accommodation tax separately?
No. The fee is payable per accommodation unit per day, regardless of the number of people.
In agreement with the owner of the hotel or hotel, I plan to leave the room later (late check-out). Will there be an additional charge during my stay?
No. If the stay is extended by a few hours, this does not count as an additional stay and does not imply an obligation to pay a fee. However, if the length of stay is such that it ultimately results in the collection of an additional day of room use, then an occupancy tax will be charged.
From January 1, 2018, a mandatory tourist tax will be introduced in Greece, which will be levied on all tourists when staying in a hotel or licensed apartment - separately from the price of the tour. With details of the innovation - “Bulletin of ATOR”.
WHAT WILL BE THE TOURIST TAX RATES?
Despite all the negative assessments and forecasts regarding the decline in the competitiveness of Greece as a tourist destination,... And be there throughout the year, and not just.
So, from January 1, all foreign tourists in Greece will need to pay a tourist tax for every day of stay - on the day of arrival or departure from the hotel. The amount of tax depends on the star rating of the hotel.
The hotel has the right to refuse accommodation if tourists have not paid the tourist tax.
The rates are as follows: for accommodation in a 5* hotel - 4 euros per day per room, in a 4* hotel - 3 euros per day per room, 3* - 1.50 euros per day per room, 1* and 2* hotels - 0, 50 euros per night per room.
In addition, those tourists who will be staying in apartments will have to fork out extra money. For 4* class apartments - 1 euro per day, 3* - 0.50 euros per day, 1* and 2* - 0.25 euros per day.
HOW WILL THE TAX BE PAID?
According to tour operators, organized tourists will pay the tax separately and independently. This fee is not included in the package tour price. “Tourists will pay on site at a hotel, such as this one,” explained the.
According to the tour operator, on average the new tax will lead to an increase in price of 40 euros per tour. As the company emphasizes, “rather, this is more about temporary inconvenience, since tourists in Greece are not used to paying a fee.”
Organized tourists will pay the tax separately and independently. This fee is not included in the package tour price
The Biblio-Globus company draws attention to the fact that the hotel has the right to refuse accommodation if tourists have not paid the tourist tax.
“It takes time for both hoteliers and tourists to get used to it. It should also be noted that in other European countries the practice of collecting taxes from tourists has existed for a long time. For experienced travelers, the Greek tax will not be news,” experts say.
THERE WILL BE EXCEPTIONS
True, there may be exceptions: a number of high-category Greek hotels have already announced their readiness to charge the tourist tax to their account. As explained by Mouzenidis Travel, we are talking mainly about 5* Deluxe and Luxury hotels.
This information is also confirmed in: according to the tour operator, several Deluxe level hotels will not charge guests a fee, for this moment this list is being updated.
Mouzenidis Travel says that the list of hotels in which tax collection already included in the price, will be known after the New Year holidays.
